Wagner's Ring at the Proms on BBC Radio 3

•    Wagner: Der Ring des Niebelungen 
     from the Proms
     Staatskapelle Berlin, Daniel Barenboim conductor
  
  
  
  The first two operas can be heard on BBC Radio 3 now; the rest are on their way.
  
  

Das Rhinegold (7/22)

Iain Paterson baritone (Wotan)

Anna Larsson mezzo-soprano (Erda)

Johannes Martin Kränzle baritone (Alberich)

Eric Halfvarson bass (Fafner)

Die Walküre (7/23)

Bryn Terfel bass-baritone (Wotan)

Eric Halfvarson bass (Hunding)

Simon O'Neill tenor (Siegmund)

Anja Kampe soprano, Proms debut artist (Sieglinde)

Nina Stemme soprano (Brünnhilde)

Ekaterina Gubanova mezzo-soprano (Fricka)

Siegfried (7/26)

Lance Ryan tenor, Proms debut artist (Siegfried)

Nina Stemme soprano (Brünnhilde)

Terje Stensvold baritone (Wanderer)

Peter Bronder tenor (Mime)

Götterdämmerung (7/28)

Nina Stemme soprano (Brünnhilde)

Andreas Schager tenor (Siegfried)

Mikhail Petrenko bass (Hagen)

Gerd Grochowski baritone (Gunther)

Also coming up:

Tristan und Isolde (7/27)

Tannhauser (8/4)

Parsifal (8/25)

Wagner 200: The Flying Dutchman @ BBC Radio 3 – Anja Kampe and Bryn Terfel

Wagner 200: The Flying Dutchman

BBC Radio 3 recently broadcast the 2009 Royal Opera House production of The Flying Dutchman, starring Bryn Terfel as the ghostly sea captain and Anja Kampe as Senta (both shown at left). 

Andrew Clements of The Guardian said Terfel's ...performance is mesmerising – hauntingly well-sung..." and Fiona Maddocks (also at The Guardian) noted, "Anja Kampe's Senta— nervy, intense, powerful in high fortissimo passages, tenderly inflected and sinuously acted—was outstanding."

The recording is available for about 3 more days.

Wagner: Derfliegende Höllander (The Flying Dutchman)

The Dutchman ..... Bryn Terfel (baritone)
Senta ..... Anja Kampe (soprano)
Daland ..... Hans-Peter Konig (bass)
Erik ..... Torsten Kerl (tenor)
Steersman ..... John Tessier (tenor)
Mary ..... Clare Shearer (soprano)
Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Marc Albrecht, conductor

Thoughts During a Pledge Break

Saying mean things about Andrea Boccelli is probably passé at this point. However, being out of style or behind the times has never stopped me before. So, I found myself in front of the TV the other night, and with over 200 channels to choose from, the least offensive program was Boccelli’s 2011 “Gift to New York” concert, which my local PBS station was showing during their monthly pledge drive. The PBS website notes that this 

“historic event…saw the tenor following in the distinguished footsteps of opera superstars Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo, both of whom have given memorable Central Park performances.”

Die Walkürie at the Met: This Ring Thing is Looking Up

OK, my opinion on Das Rhinegold still stands. But apparently for Die Walkürie, Mr. Lapage felt the Machine was more or less under control and was able to focus more on his singers. Either that, or the singers got fed up with waiting, and did their own Personenregie. Bryn Terfel was convincingly blustery and brow-beaten by Fricka, who at least got to emote facially. I was worried about both of them going over the edge—the edge of the Machine, that is. Deborah Voigt gave me a few moments’ cause for concern, too. (It didn’t help that I’d seen her fall in the documentary.)

Vensday Wagner Vexation: Wagner's Dream? Or Bob's Machine?

Das Rhinegold: Still Life with Machine

After watching the documentary on Robert Lepage's Ring Cycle on PBS Monday night, and most of Das Rhinegold on Tuesday, I can't help but wonder: What would the opera have been like if M. Lepage had expended as much creative energy directing his singers as he did worrying about the Machine?